The Georgia Military College Prep (GMCP) Bulldogs are preparing for a 2026 baseball season that will begin Feb. 9 with a cross-town road trip to Baldwin County High School.
The Bulldogs finished with an 11-18 record and fourth-place finish in A D2 Region 5 last season. Despite a disappointing two straight losses in the playoffs, Bulldogs’ head coach Kyle Redmond said he feels encouraged about his team’s chances this year.
GMCP starting shortstop Seth Ussery led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging with a slash line of .446/.571/.600 for his junior season. Senior teammates Ayden Hamm, Noah Goddard, and Lantz Holton also garnered praise for their leadership from Redmond.
“It’s nice to have a big group of seniors,” Redmond said. “Those guys are great leaders and have been with me for three years now, so they know how I want things done. They’ve bought into how we do things and do a great job of setting a good example for the young guys.
“Most of them have started since they were in the 10th grade, so they’ve had to go through some difficulties at times; however, it has made them better in the long run,” the coach added.
The Bulldogs also have a solid pitching staff led by senior Ayden Hamm, who finished 2025 with a team-best 3.38 ERA and 81 strikeouts to just 36 walks in 47.2 innings of work.
“We have a lot of pitching depth this year,” Redmond stressed. “That was an issue last year. We had some weeks where we had four games in a week, and it was tough to manage pitching. That won’t be a problem this year.”
Redmond also said he likes his team’s chances this year in the batter’s box.
“The top of our lineup is extremely good,” he stated. “Several guys are returning who batted over .350 last season.”
In addition to Ussery, players who batted over .350 in 2025 include Noah Goddard (.416), who also led the team in hits with 32, and Lantz Holton (.368). Goddard, Holton, and Ussery combined to drive in 39 of the team’s 109 RBIs last season, with other big contributors being Hamm, who drove in 16 runs on 19 hits, and Eli Griffith with 11 RBIs on 27 hits.
Unfortunately, however, Griffith has been lost for the season due to an off-season elbow injury.
Redmond added he expects several other players will also step up this season as starters, including sophomores Matthew Webster and Riley Marcott.
He’s also looking forward to coaching incoming senior transfer and University of South Carolina Beaufort commit Chase McCrary. McCrary, a switch-hitting middle infielder, is entering his first year as a member of a high school team after three prior seasons of homeschooling and travel ball.
The Bulldogs’ 2026 schedule includes a lot of non-region matchups, purposely orchestrated by Redmond to test his team, especially in the early weeks of the season.
“Because of our experience, I made a really tough non-region schedule,” the coach said. “Teams like Peach County (a final-four team last season), Frederica Academy (2025 GIAA State champion), Tatnall Square, Mount de Sales, Jasper, and Brentwood, among others, are all quality opponents.
“We will find out what we are made of very early on in the season. There isn’t a game on our schedule where we can afford to have an off day.”
GMC Prep and BCHS will meet at Baldwin County for the season opener at 5 p.m. on Monday.